Tension in Taraba over alleged imposition of monarch

PALPABLE tension is again building up in Kurmi Local Council of Taraba State over alleged imposition of a traditional ruler on the people, who according to them, is not from a ruling house.

The action, which was alleged to have been carried out by the acting governor, according to the entire village heads of the council, negates the Legal Notice No. 5 of 2013 which was approved by the state House of Assembly.

After the demised of the monarch in the council, Chief Ishaya Etsu in 2011, the Kurmi chiefdom, as observed by The Guardian, has remained without a king until recently when the Acting Governor, Sani Abubakar Danladi, was alleged to have been influenced by some persons who are not from a royal house.

Sad by the development, which the people said if not urgently reversed would jeopardise the dreams of the state government in ensuring peace in the nooks and crannies of the state, village heads drawn from the fifty villages of the council have admonished the acting governor to tread the path of justice by allowing the traditional chief of the area to emerge from a ruling house.

A statement collectively signed by the village heads and made available to our correspondent, urged the acting governor to as a matter of urgency revert to status quo and “the appointment of Samail Maiwiya be revisited as he is not from a ruling House.”

The village heads unanimously opined that “the contents of Gazette No. 5 of 2013 be upheld because it properly covers the third class chief and the 10 district areas created in Kurmi Local Council by the Taraba State House of Assembly vide the Upgrade of Traditional Rulers and Creation of Districts Order 2005.”

But when contacted on the development, the Acting Governor through his Chief Press Secretary, Hassan Mijinyawa, said before taking the decision, the acting governor “was well guided by the provision of the law and inputs from relevant authority.”

Also, a senior policeman at the state Police Command, who pleaded anonymity, told our reporter that the police are aware of the tension in the area as a result of the appointment of “one Samaila.”

He said: “Our command and other relevant security agents have gone through the said gazette and we have observed that the said Samaila is not from the royal house, so we have arranged to meet with the acting governor to offer him our candid advice on the matter. So, we are assuring the people of Kurmi that the action would definitely be revisited by the acting governor.”